Movin' on up

Lala Land has moved!

I planned to do this a little more gradually, but it was all so easy - I just took the plunge and did it! I've moved hosting of Lala Land from Blogger to Wordpress.

Nothing bad to say about Blogger, hell I've been using this same platform since 2005! I'ts just that Wordpress offers so many more whistles and bells!

So abra-cadabra!

Click here

or here

or here

http://lalaslalaland.wordpress.com/

See ya there!

The Silken Tent

It comforts me to imagine that once they've passed, our mothers' memories exist as a protective silken tent, woven of their lives.

In time, once our tears have dried, each tent sways slightly in response to the wind of our thoughts. They are not - or are no longer - tense or tired, but instead relaxed, comfortable to be around.

The tent's pole, is its strength, backbone, character, and firmness, perhaps the lessons she has taught us. But she is not - or is no longer - dogmatic or insistent.

Rather, grounded in part by her deep investment in friends, family, and community, she is gently bound in our memories of her.

The Silken Tent

by Robert Frost

She is as in a field a silken tent
At midday when the sunny summer breeze
Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,
So that in guys it gently sways at ease,
And its supporting central cedar pole,
That is its pinnacle to heavenward
And signifies the sureness of the soul,
Seems to owe naught to any single cord,
But strictly held by none, is loosely bound
By countless silken ties of love and thought
To every thing on earth the compass round,
And only by one's going slightly taut
In the capriciousness of summer air
Is of the slightest bondage made aware.

__________________
Visit Rosemary's Pink Saturday

I'm all out of Mothers

It's official, I'm all out of Mothers.  Birth, in-law, out-law, ex and current.

Last year, in March, my own mother passed away after a long, sad journey with Alzheimers. I should say her body passed away - the mother I knew, and who knew me had been gone for quite some time.  In September, my ex-husband's mother passed away - apparently cracking wise until the end. I loved that feisty old broad.

Yesterday we got the news that Downtown Dad's mom, Helen, had passed suddenly, although not unexpectedly. As with my mom, the Helen we knew had left us a couple of years ago.

Certainly this is a time of transition for our family, and though it is a sad one, it has been a long time coming.  We've had plenty of time to process this, but you just never know how you'll feel until it happens. I have to admit though, to a certain sense of relief along with the sadness. (accompanied by a heapin' helpin' of guilt for feeling that relief) But like I said, this has been a long time coming.

In processing through this, it occurs to me that mothers, or mother figures, in addition to being a key relationship in our lives, also represent safety and comfort in an iconic way.  As if having lost their presence in the world, we are somehow more exposed to danger.  Not any tangible danger, but the misty, vague kind of danger that is the stuff of childhood nightmares.

...or maybe, just maybe, its the excitement and fear of having to stand on your own for the first time.

Relating everything as I do, to Disney movies, and always looking for a silver lining - I started thinking that mothers represent a comforting, safe theme in movies and stories too.  And heroes, especially Disney heroes hardly ever have a mother!  Think about it...

• Pinocchio - no mother.
• Peter Pan - no mother.
• The Sword in the Stone - Wart has no parents.
• The Rescuers - Penny is an orphan
• Tron Legacy - Sam Flynn - no mother. 
• The Great Mouse Detective - Olivia Flaversham - no mother.
• Beauty and the Beast - Belle - no mother
• Aladdin - orphan. Jasmine - no mother
• Pocahontas - no mother
• Pirates of the Caribbean - Elizabeth, Jack and Will - no mother.
• The Little Mermaid - Ariel no mother
• Bambi - Mother killed by a gunshot.
• The Fox and the Hound - Tod - Mother killed by a gunshot.
• Finding Nemo - Mother killed by barracuda 

I think, in fiction, and maybe in real life too, heroes who participate in epic journeys and adventures have to learn, grow, and stand on their own without a parent to provide guidance. The death or absence of a mother or guidance figure, brings this point to light, and creates the tension or drama that makes things interesting.

Could it be that by removing our sources of comfort and safety, some kind of drama or adventure for would-be heroes Lala and Downtown Dad is about to begin, as we are forced to confront the challenges of 2013 alone?

Tune in next time to find out!

Twitter NO!

So in case anyone is considering that whole "live Tweeting" thing. Let me just tell you it was a big bust.

There were a total of 22 tweets with my hashtag of #Linda55.  5 from some Spanish speaking chick wanting to be my BFF and 4 more from some Spanish speaking guy wearing a Santa suit. WTF?

The rest of the Tweets were between @MaxKringen and me mostly discussing whether or not @WilliamShatner would Tweet me a happy birthday wish. (He did not).

I much prefer either Blogging, if I have a lot of words to use to say something, or Facebook, if I have less words.  For the record, I hate trying to keep everything to 40 characters.

Twitter is for the birds, or the kids.

Write. Then write some more.

OK, I failed Na-No-Wri-Mo.

Not only failed it.  I didn't even make it past the 2nd day!  But, for some reason the crazy optimist in me kept the NaNo banner on my Facebook page up... as if I could somehow....

I still want to write.  I still want to tell stories.

When I read something someone else has written and think to myself  "I could do better than that." The fact is, they've already done better than me, because they've written, and I haven't.

And still, storytelling calls to me...

But, I need structure. If not structure, at least a map. Lately, I've been trying to follow a list I've made of the things that interest me. I'm trying to focus each day on one of those topics and blog about it.  Today's topic to focus on was blog/writing. I happened to open what I thought was a spam email,

And I found Storylane

"Storylane works like a blogging platform but is social from the ground up. Your content can be categorized by you and then discovered by our fast growing community. Storylane can breathe new life into the content you created for your old blog and hopefully connect you with people, places, and ideas that can add value and meaning to your life."

OK, add meaning to my life?  I'm not sure I buy that.  But, I was intrigued enough to sign up. And, like the marketing piece on their writing page says:

"If the blank page excites you like nothing else, if you always turn a word twice around before putting it down, if you've ever re-written something twenty times, this is the place for you."

What the heck - it's a start.